Why do musicians often count to four before starting to play? What’s significant about the number four?

Question

Why do musicians often count to four before starting to play? What’s significant about the number four?

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Answer 1

Your most standard “unit” of time in music is 4 beats per measure. When someone is counting off a song, they’re typically doing it to set the speed of the song so everyone can start at the same time and at the same speed. They use 1-2-3-4 because that’s typically how everyone will be counting the time in their heads as they play.

There are different units of time, though. Depending on the beat of the music, someone could count off in 2, 3, 6, etc.